Banksia Sea Squirt

Sycozoa pulchra

The Banksia Sea Squirt, an ascidian related to cunjeyvoi, can be found in the shallow areas of bays and coastal waters, often living on seagrass, This peculiar-looking creature is about 80 mm long, pale blue in colour, with tiny ‘dots’ forming visible rows. Each dot represents a single animal living in a colony of identical animals (clones) cemented together by a jelly-like coat or ‘test’. There are about 8 of these double rows running up and down the inverted cone-shaped head, which sits on the end of a very thin stalk that is anchored into sandy mud by tiny rootlets. This animal is incidental prey to dugongs as they cut trails through crowded populations of seagrasses and these ascidians within Moreton Bay in particular.

Distributed in tropical Australia and Indonesia.

Banksia Sea Squirt (Sycozoa pulchra), WildGuide to Moreton Bay

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